I THINK I'M BACK

BACK AGAIN! I have finally been able to get to a place where I can begin to blog again. I was offline for a while as the renovation to the house continues - and guess what? it's STILL continuing! Things have been going slow. We've had several major permitting delays, but we're now hoping that things will be picking up significantly pretty soon. Things are now down to insulation and drywalling. Still not a whole lot of electricty in the house. It cannot happen until the drywall is all done. I think it's the sequence of things when renovating - I'm not a builder (although I have learned a lot through all of this!) but my understanding is that the drywall has to all be in place before the wiring can be "hot" so that they don't accidently screw drywall into a live wire. Things are getting better here, but it's still going to be quite a bit of time before we're anywhere near "done."

CLOSING IN ON THE END OF ANOTHER SUMMER - Since we're now almost into August, it's always my time to be looking forward to the planning for the Fall. Being my favorite four months of the year, I enjoy this. It's almost "back to work" time for me as I'll be returning to teaching in a few short weeks. Having the time "off" in the summer allows me time to do so much. It's sort of a double-edged sword because, on the one hand, I do enjoy getting back to work, but on the other hand - when I get back to work, I won't have time do get anything done! Well, it seems that way, anyhow. Not only will there be getting back to work, there's also the annual trip to the panhandle for the family reunion trip. Actually, it seems that I'm always doing way more things on that trip than the reunion itself. It is a time, though, to see some family I don't get to see but once a year and spend some time in a place that "like another world" from where I spend the rest of the year. So I do look forward to all of that.

SUMMER AT FUMC - This, being my second summer at Faith United Methodist Church, now has been much smoother than last year. In your first year, you're always getting to know everyone and the dynamics of your ensembles and "how they tick." It seems like we have had more folks able to participate more consistently this year and that has been a blessing. We have several things we're getting ready for - first, is something called a Worship Arts Celebration Sunday. Since Pastor Debbie will be out on that Sunday, we have been given the opportunity to share our ministry - in depth - with the congregation. We hope this will encourage more folks who are not currently participating in the music and arts ministries to take part. Second, the first Wednesday night of September will be out Kick-off night. This is a special time where we go over organizational things for the year and preview our new Christmas musical. (I know what it is - but I'm keeping it under wraps a while longer! :). With a different rehearsal routine this summer, all of our groups have had a more thorough rehearsal experience and that has made a big difference in our ministry!